GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, who this week decried what she called “harsh rhetoric” surrounding the issue of illegal immigration — and who said she agrees with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown on much of the issue — last year advocated that the state “prosecute illegal aliens and criminal aliens in all of our cities, in every part of California.”

Whitman this week wrote a piece for the East Los Angeles Spanish-language newspaper chain, saying she and Brown are very close on the issue of illegal immigration. “What has bothered Latinos for too long is the harsh rhetoric around the immigration debate. Too often, the debate has been tinged with hurtful words signaling intolerance or worse to many Latinos,” she wrote.

And she said: “Clearly, when examining our positions on immigration, there is very little over which Jerry Brown and I disagree. Latinos seeking a candidate who supports amnesty for illegal immigrants won’t find one on the gubernatorial ballot this year.”

But the talk sounds a little different from comments we reported here on SFGate last year,when Whitman spoke to our Shaky Hand Productions video cam. Back then, she was up against rival candidate Steve Poizner and promised “the tough approach California needs” on the issue.

Here’s a visit to the Shaky Hand Productions’ Vault and Wine Cellar for a look back at Meg’s immigration comments in May 2009:

At the time, Whitman’s comments elicited sharp response from voices on the left. Those included the folks at Calitics.com in San Francisco, a city she has repeatedly cited as the worst of the state’s “sanctuary cities.”

Update: Hector Barajas, spokesman for the Whitman campaign, has emailed us, saying that Whitman’s position on this issue is that “undocumented immigrants who commit crimes need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”